Old House, ugly garden - Advice needed!

dararyder

Hi Everyone,

I've bought an old house and need some advice from someone who has experience. We have a small courtyard out the back, it is about a 10 inch drop down from the back door. At the moment it is just concrete and looks rather ugly. Wondering if someone could give me some advice on how to make it look nice without spending big money. I was thinking pebbles, but i'm wondering how to deal with the drains in this situation? Are paving stones expensive and are they difficult to lay? Any other suggestions or tips would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Dara

gigawatt

you'd be amazed what you could do if you get creative with some masonry paint. cheap, cheerful, not much work involved, touch it up or paint over if you get sick of it. saw it done on tv once, they painted the ground like black and white tiles/chessboard effect. get a little set of seats and a bbq and off you go your own patch of paradise!!

magicbastarder

i bought an old house - it's 100 years old this year - and lifted some of the concrete out the back to put a veg patch in.
luckily for me, i could tell that the concrete in the spot i chose was newer - and thinner - than the bombproof stuff which was nearer the house.
an angle grinder and sledgehammer gave me an hour or two of very satisfying labour.

dararyder

Thanks folks,

Would i be right in saying that to lay pebbles down (thinking a layer of around 10cm) you have to smash and remove concrete first, or would it be ok to lay them straight on to it?

I'm clueless!

Dara

magicbastarder

a 10cm layer would be overkill; usually 5cm should suffice.
is there any access to the yard other than the back door?

dararyder

magicbastarder wrote: »

a 10cm layer would be overkill; usually 5cm should suffice.
is there any access to the yard other than the back door?

No magic, just the back door. Thanks for your help, i really appreciate it.

You think its ok to put pebbles directly on to concrete?

Another concern is that there are two gutter drains and a covered drain in the area. How do you stop the pebbles from falling into the gutter drains and clogging up the grills? And how do you mark where the covered drain is in case you need to open it?

foxinsox

sounds lovely..

I'd love to get my hands on it..

Maybe paint walls with masonry paint as suggested..

Or if you could get away with it paint just one feature wall..
Aubergine/deep purple colour or cerise pink can work very well against plants..

Lots of pots...

either terracota or go with all colours.. really brighten up the place..

maybe some trellis on walls - plant climbers - clematis - honey suckle..

maybe but kind of bit of a rafters roof/pergola type bits across the top if possible and also let climbers go along this.. cat gut/fishing line can also be used across the top to let climbers go along..make sure it is strongest fishing line you can get..

gravel/pebbles - please choose a colour of stone that goes with the house..ie if your house is granite go for gray gravel, don't go for the illuminous yellow gravel.. it doesn't match any natural stone..

You can probably get "proper" drain covers in a builder's suppliers - or alternatively just make them with a bit of wire - like chicken wire but small enough that stones don't get through.. You could mark the drains by having a particular pot over them.. I wouldn't be too worried about them..you'll find them if you really have to..

I'd just throw the gravel right onto the concrete.. 5cm as said above is plenty - shop around and haggle for price of gravel.. get it by the tonne bag rather than buying it in a shop in small bags!

best of luck... it sounds fab!

few pics for inspiration in what I am trying to describe:

gigawatt

wow fox! they are some gorgeous little gardens

foxinsox

gigawatt wrote: »

wow fox! they are some gorgeous little gardens

yeah aren't they fab!

I'd love to see pics of the OP's courtyard..

I've seen some amazing makeovers of small/tiny areas like that!

I've done a few myself and it doesn't really cost that much and they can look fab..

The biggest expense is usually the plants and nice/decent frost proof pots.